There were two gripping photo finishes to start the day's racing at Narromine Turf Club on Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The annual ANZAC-themed meeting was headlined by the Diggers Cup but there was plenty of interest in the first two events on the card given the tight finishes.
On both occasions the leader was able to hold off the chasing pack and on both occasion the winner was a horse which had been building towards a win this preparation.
Firstly, Dubbo trainer Kody Nestor continued his strong run of form by landing the quinella in the Narromine Shire Council Skypark Estate Maiden Handicap (1300m).
Forseti ($2.70 favourite) looked like the winner when he took control midway down the straight but stablemate Dobbin ($6) and emergency Anxiety ($18) both rattled home and almost nabbed victory on the line.
READ ALSO:
That win was followed by the Brett Thompson-trained Gattling Gun ($4.40) having enough gas in the tank to hold off $41 outsider Buster Fontein, who rattled home like a freight train for trainer Garry Lunn.
Gattling Gun is a five-year-old but Tuesday was just his third start.
Despite being extremely green, he had shown promise in the first two starts of his career, finishing second on debut at Wellington before running third on a wet track at Orange less than two weeks ago.
Gattling Gun was far from perfect again on Tuesday as he went wayward at times in the straight but with Nick Heywood in the saddle he got back on track and held on.
"He still doesn't know how to race properly, this horse," Thompson told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
"He did the same at Orange too, he floated all over the place when he got in front and he did the same today but he came again.
"Me and my son were just talking then and we don't know what to do with him. Do we take more gear off him or put blinkers on? We don't know but he's learning."
Forseti is another had shown promise when finishing second to impressive stablemate Vital Verse earlier in the month before producing a disappointing effort when running sixth last time out at Scone.
He was in a better way on Tuesday and after jockey Mathew Cahill had stalked the leader early, went to the next next gear down the straight and won narrowly from Dobbin, who caught the eye with his strong finish.
"You could put a pen through his last start and I thought his start before that was okay," Nestor said of Forseti.
The main event, the Diggers Cup, was won by the Brett Robb-trained A Magic Zariz.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
